Annie's Therapeutic Companions

Annie’s Therapeutic Companions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer organization consisting of Pet Partners registered and insured animal assisted therapy teams, based out of rural Dublin, Texas. Our organization is run by volunteers who love people and animals, who own and train their own animals and want to serve the public by utilizing them. ATC teams consist of a handler and dog or other animal who have been extensively trained to offer consistent, safe attention to those in our care. All of the registered teams in our organization are also extensively trained to help in crisis situations and have an additional certification from Pet Partners in Animal Crisis Response. Pet Partners is the national leader in demonstrating and promoting the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities and education since 1977.  

Our teams make consistent, weekly visits to nursing homes, Erath County first responders, Texas Health Stephenville Hospital and visit schools, work at summer camp with special needs kids at Cutting Edge Pediatric and Adult Therapy in Plano and Mansfield and their open houses. Our organization has been serving Erath, Comanche, Hamilton with trips to Collin and Tarrant counties since 2015. 

**One of things that makes our organization different than other nonprofits is, we are 100% volunteer and have NO paid employees and haven't all these years.  All of our funds go directly into supplying what our teams need to serve and back into our community which would be to our first responders, nursing homes, hospital and those we serve.

Here's a little glimpse into what we see as we visit those we serve: 

As ATC works with kids (in schools as well as special needs facilities) we are blessed to be able to help kids progress with a goal in mind regarding their therapy.  The kids that have walkers or crutches that don't want to walk end up being so excited to walk a therapy animal and go all around the school, those that are non verbal start saying words, those that don't like to read start reading and reading out loud, those that have a hard time focusing and following directions are able to and desire to.  When we work on fine motor skills with the kids it consists of brushing, braiding manes and tails, using rubber bands, tying ribbons, writing names and drawing pics, painting pawnails, (all of which are done on the dogs and minis). The kids’ start doing things their therapists can't even get them to do just because an animal is involved and it's a fun, exciting thing for them. Kids that are afraid of dogs or horse are suddenly are cuddling with them and talking to them.  The kids’ gain confidence all around.

As ATC works with kids at our local public library we see shy kids go from being uncomfortable reading out loud to wanting to read to our therapy dogs and further their reading skills gaining confidence and a new love for reading. Many kids this is their first experience being around a dog and this is a perfect setting for them to meet a trained, calm dog for the first time and learn how to properly approach dogs as we teach them about dogs in the midst of our time with them.

As ATC visits different shifts of our Erath County first responders a few times throughout the week during the day and different night shifts during the week, we are a mental health stress relief for them, which they always comment about. Our teams are a great support for them especially during these times. Unfortunately, there have been times where one of their comrades has passed away due to health reasons or line of duty. Often they'll talk to us and decompress as opposed to sharing with someone they don't know and we're also able to be the ice breaker that helps them talk amongst themselves especially when a tragic crisis just happened.  We are their support during these hard times checking up on them, reminding them someone cares for them and are thinking of them. We are also on an Emergency Task Force in Erath County and on call 24/7 for our first responders for crisis situations they encounter and the community. We have a wonderful rapport with our first responders.

As ATC enters a nursing home/assisted living facility we are the lonely person's friend and comfort, and the staff's encouragement and smile that they're doing a great job. It's amazing how many people are alone and we make it our goal to be the consistent, happy visitor they can count on seeing.

As ATC visits Texas Health Stephenville, we encounter many that are missing their pets so as we enter rooms the patients’ faces light up with joy. We are able to make a long day a little shorter and brighter, comfort a family losing a loved one, watch as people's blood pressure drops drastically as they pet and hold the dogs which the nurses even comment about, be in the ER with a child having a traumatic experience and calm them down. We are also a big mental health stress reliever and encouragement for the hospital staff on their long, stressful days.